• NFL reporter resigned after fallout from photo scandal

• Patriots coach, Russini were pictured at Arizona resort

• Investigation unable to find ‘exact nature’ of relationship

The Athletic’s internal investigation found that the relationship between former NFL reporter Dianna Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was in “clear violation” of the newsroom’s standards.

The outlet, which is owned by the New York Times, released a report Thursday detailing the findings of a five-months-long investigation. Mike Semel, the Athletic’s editorial director for standards and quality, wrote that he was unable to find signs of clear bias in her coverage or determine the exact “nature of their relationship”, but said it gave the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Ten years after he helped shape the quarterback’s anthem protest, the former NFL player and Army veteran says he still sees it as an act of patriotism

Nate Boyer was stunned. The former NFL long snapper and United States Army Green Beret had big plans for his MVP (Merging Vets and Players) foundation, an organization that helps veterans and NFL players address the challenges that await once they take the uniform off for good. MVP was all set for a season-long college football activation tour thanks to a five-figure sponsorship from a well-known brand that happens to be one of the NFL’s longstanding partners. Boyer and his team were prepping for their trip to Columbus for Ohio State’s home opener. Everything was ready to go. Thousands in upfront costs had been spent. Then the company pulled out.

“They suddenly stopped replying to emails,” Boyer says. “Finally, on that Thursday, when I was at the airport en route, I called our point person, also a veteran, who begrudgingly told me what was going on.”

LA added Myles Garrett and brought Aaron Donald out of retirement to create the NFL’s most menacing defense. A Super Bowl trip still isn’t a guarantee

Last Saturday night, NFL Network premiered the 2025 edition of America’s Game, the annual NFL Films-produced documentary on the reigning Super Bowl champions, this time starring the Seattle Seahawks.

Less than 24 hours later, the Los Angeles Rams announced that they had lured Aaron Donald out of retirement and signed him to a one-year, $20m contract that could reach $30m with incentives.

• Arte Moreno sells after owning team since 2003

• Deal gives KSE teams in NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS

Kroenke Sports + Entertainment announced Tuesday that it will buy a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno in a deal that is expected to close in the first quarter ⁠of 2027.

The sale will require the approval of Major League Baseball and its owners.

• CBS analyst was arrested in July after traffic stop

• Former QB has been absent from CBS duty

CBS NFL analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has pleaded no contest to a charge of operating while intoxicated and has apologized for the actions that led to his July arrest.

Romo was arrested on 23 July following a traffic stop in Wisconsin. CBS has since placed him on leave from his role as its lead NFL analyst.

A decade after Kaepernick’s quiet protest shook the NFL, his exile looks less like an aberration than a blueprint for the culture war that followed

America likes nice round numbers, perfect for anniversaries and reflections, and it has, suddenly, been 10 years since Colin Kaepernick first protested police killings – more accurately, police killings of Black people that went unpunished either internally or by the courts – by taking a knee during the national anthem for the entirety of the 2016 NFL regular season. He never played in the league again.

Ten years covers a lot of ground, especially in these years of American darkness, and many of the important details surrounding Kaepernick, his banishment and significance have disappeared, time replaced by more time and more darkness – time moving faster than ever, at internet speed, where nothing matters, where nothing sticks. We consume by clip, by click, by meme, and knowledge by meme is not knowledge at all.

The FBI has charged Daejon Love after he allegedly pretended to be a 49ers receiver. Although football isn’t as glamorous as it looks, it easy to see the attraction

Is romance dead? Yeah, probably. There have never been more options for finding a mate – dating apps, Instagram DM slides, hanging out next to a gas station at 2am – but it’s also never been harder. Meeting someone who is compatible, stable, and even remotely attractive is akin to putting a square peg in a round hole. Blindfolded. From a mile away. Underwater. So, I can’t blame anyone for falling for an elaborate hoax like the one allegedly perpetrated by Daejon Love.

Love is now infamous around the world for allegedly posing as an NFL player in order to scam more than 20 women out of $1.3m. Now that Love and his alleged accomplice, Taylor Jamie Chen, have been charged by federal authorities, prosecutors are claiming they are a flight risk. They certainly seem like they have the money to flee the country. According to court documents, Love managed to fabricate an entire online persona as a San Francisco 49ers player – posting photos and videos in Niners gear, posing with expensive cars, and even performing football drills (badly) to bolster the alleged grift. Love allegedly used AI to trick search engine results to add credibility to his claims on football success with the 49ers. There’s even a video of Love running wide receiver routes on the beach. In a helmet. Do real NFL players carry their helmets in the car, just in case? You never know when you may risk a concussion while laying in the sand.

• Los Angeles were already Super Bowl favorites

• Defensive tackle was 10-time Pro Bowler with Rams

• 35-year-old aiming to win second Super Bowl in LA

Aaron Donald, one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, is coming out of retirement to rejoin his only professional team, the Los Angeles Rams.

During a 10-season career with the Rams, who drafted him with the 13th overall pick in 2014, Donald was a three-time defensive player of the year and an eight-time first team All-Pro. He won a Super Bowl with the Rams at the end of the 2021 season before announcing his retirement in March 2024 at the age of 32.

• Authorities say 26 women targeted across four states

• Suspect allegedly used dating apps, fake investments

• FBI believes there may be ‘many more victims’

Federal authorities claim a man posed as a San Francisco 49ers player and scammed more than ⁠two dozen women out of about $1.3m.

The FBI arrested Daejon Love, 35, and his alleged accomplice ⁠Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, on ⁠24 August in Boise, Idaho. They were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, according ⁠to the US attorney’s office in the District of Oregon. The men remain in federal custody in Boise.

• Goodell confirms review after Ohio prostitution sting

• York pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges

• NFL has previously disciplined owners for misconduct

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL is looking into whether San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York will be punished for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after he was caught in a prostitution sting in Ohio.

“It’s being reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” Goodell said Wednesday at the owners’ meetings in Atlanta. “We’ll do that and when there’s something to be reported we’ll talk.”

• League ends flag football and skills competitions

• Only original 88 selections will earn Pro Bowl status

• Players to be honored at Super Bowl week in LA

The NFL is ending the Pro Bowl Games after repeated format changes to its annual all-star event.

Beginning ⁠with the 2026 season, 88 Pro Bowlers will be selected but the NFL no longer plans to stage an ⁠AFC-NFC game, a ⁠flag-football matchup ​or an accompanying series of competitions. The players chosen will instead be invited to next year’s Super Bowl site in ⁠Los Angeles for an in-person celebration in February.

The San Francisco 49ers owner’s arrest in Ohio over the weekend was quickly put behind him. Others are not so lucky

The Wheat Hill Mobile Home Community sits off state Route 170, on the edge of East Palestine, Ohio, a town most Americans only learned about because a train derailed there in February 2023 and released toxic chemicals into the creek. I grew up in a trailer park like this one, and know the sights. The grid of aluminum boxes in rows. Skirting the color of old teeth, some of it buckled, some patched with a piece of lattice. The window units huff and puff in August, dripping dark condensation on to the gravel.

I’m sure there were drugs on my street. I’m sure somebody was selling sex. I never saw it. What I saw were families raising kids in 800 square feet and people the country had already written off, living next to each other and mostly getting along.

• 215 of 235 donated brains showed signs of CTE

• Condition can only be diagnosed after death

• Symptoms include problems with memory and mood

At least one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 was found to have had chronic ⁠traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), according to a study released on Tuesday.

Out of the 878 former players who died during that time frame, 235 donated their brains for study, researchers said, with 215 ⁠of those donated brains ⁠found to have CTE, ​a degenerative disease that can only definitively be diagnosed after death. CTE is associated with repeated blows to the head, including concussions. Symptoms include difficulty with attention and memory, dementia, mood disorders and headaches.

• 46-year-old charged with possessing criminal tools

• York fined and sentenced to two days in jail

• 49ers CEO also owns stake in Leeds United

The San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York has pleaded no contest to two criminal charges after being arrested at an Ohio trailer park over the weekend.

KRON4 News in San Francisco reported that York was initially arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution but that count was amended to a charge of disorderly conduct. He was also charged with possessing criminal tools.

• Player booed during team’s preseason loss to Bills

• QB has battled injuries during time in Cleveland

• Watson was suspended over sexual assault allegations

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has called the booing he heard from the team’s own fans during Saturday’s home loss to Buffalo “disrespectful” and “personal.”

Watson, who has a complicated relationship with Cleveland fans because of injuries, off-field issues – including an NFL suspension in 2022 – and a massive, $230m contract, was booed repeatedly during the second half of the 31-7 loss to the Bills.

• Toddler was found unresponsive in residential pool

• Player has been practicing with team since June tragedy

Members of the Buffalo Bills have expressed their condolences to Ed Oliver after the death of the player’s two-year-old son.

“Obviously, very unfortunate what happened and as a teammate of him, as someone in this locker room, all we can do is love on him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said after Saturday’s win over the Cleveland Browns. “There’s nothing that you can say to make the situation any better except being there in whatever ways he needs.